Melton Mowbray Buy To Let – Demand and Supply

Recently we looked at the rents being achieved in Melton Mowbray after a local landlord rang me after reading the Melton Mowbray Property Blog. He was interested to learn if he was getting the best from his Buy to Let investment.

The Melton Mowbray rental market is all about supply and demand (isn’t it so in all parts of the economy?).    On the supply side,  41 rental properties have come up for let in the last 31 days in Melton Mowbray.   It sounds a lot until you consider there are 1533 rental properties in Melton Mowbray, that means only 2.67% of the rental stock of properties in Melton Mowbray are coming onto the market each month (it is normally around 5%).   One reason for this lack of new rental properties coming on the market is the fact that tenants seem to be staying in properties longer.

With this lack of supply, newer tenants have to pay more to secure the property they want.   And this is the crux of the matter ...properties they want.   Older properties in Melton Mowbray, that haven’t been maintained, still retain their wood chip wallpaper from the 1970’s and thread bare carpets have seen their rents drop.

Tenants want either modern properties with all the mod cons or older style properties that have been presented to a good standard – and they are prepared to pay for the privilege.   Rents for top quality properties in Melton Mowbray have risen by 0.4% in the last month. Any properties, old or modern, put on the market in good or excellent condition will rent in a matter of days.   

Interestingly, looking at Melton Mowbray property values on the Land Registry, throughout April 2015 (the latest set of data), property values rose in Melton Mowbray, with 0.1% growth, meaning they are now 4.3% higher than they were a year ago.    

Looking forward, after considering all the statistics and talking to other property professionals, I expect property values in Melton Mowbray to rise by 3% to 5% over the coming 12 months, following the Conservative victory.   In a forthcoming article, I will discuss how the number of properties changing hands each month has dropped considerably in the last 10 to 15 years in the town. 

...And so back to our landlord.  Each property is unique and so as his tenancy agreement allows him to inspect the property with notice to the tenant, we will be visiting the property next week.   For more in depth thoughts and opinions, visit me in our office on Burton Street or call me on 01664 569700.